Firefighters Knock Down Second-Alarm Fire

A fire was extinguished at 27 Lawton Brook Road on Wednesday night. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters from three area communities extinguished a fire at a seven-unit condominium complex in Portsmouth Wednesday night. Only one of the units was occupied at the time.  Portsmouth firefighters received a 911 phone call at 8:49 p.m., reporting a kitchen fire at 27 Lawton Brook Road.  "Because of the fire extending up to the second floor, they struck a second alarm," said Portsmouth Fire Deputy Chief Michael O'Brien. "The fire was quickly knocked down."  Crews from the Middletown and Bristol Fire Departments were called to the scene to assist.  "We have high levels of carbon monoxide in all of the units at this time," O'Brien said. "We're going through and ventilating all of the structures."  Fire crews ventilated all seven units of …

• Photos (1)

Middletown Fire To Buy New Rescue Boat

The Middletown Town Council approved the purchase of a $79,000 fire rescue boat to replace the town's failing one.

The Middletown Town Council voted to replace the town's failing fire rescue boat at a cost of $79,474 during Monday night's meeting. The 14-year-old vessel was deemed structurally deficient in a survey by Johnson Marine Services in 2012. Although Marine-1 is still seaworthy, its hull was compromised after a door was cut into its starboard side to make the boat more conducive to deep water rescues shortly after its purchase in 1999. The intention was to allow emergency personnel to more easily move injured or unconscious people from the water. This design, however, causes great amounts of water to seep in and swamp the boat's cockpit.  "The door was cut too low and it will sink," said Fire Chief Ronald Doire. "It actually has sunk during a …

•  14 Comments
• Photos (1)

Fire Chief Bans Outdoor Burning Saturday, Elevated Fire Risk

There is an elevated risk of fire in Newport County on Saturday. Middletown Fire Department has issued a fire ban for Saturday.

  The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for Newport County, stating that high pressure and dry conditions have elevated fire risk.  Middletown and Portsmouth have issued bans on all outdoor burning on Saturday; outdoor fires in Newport are not allowed without a permit.  According to the statement, minimum afternoon relative humidity will drop to between 15 and 25 percent by early this afternoon. Northwest wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph are expected through midday. Officials have advised that fuels, grasses and leaf litter will be very susceptible to ignition. If a wild fire develops, it may spread rapidly and become difficult to extinguish Like Middletown Patch on Facebook | Sign up for the newsletter

• Photos (1)

Truck Holding Burnable Chemicals Caught Fire on West Main Road

A truck containing 7000 gallons of methanal caught fire on West Main Road Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported

updated at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27 A tanker truck carrying around 7000 gallons of the commercial chemical methanol caught fire on West Main Road on Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported and there were no reported leaks from the container.    “Once the driver noticed the smoke coming from his vehicle he immediately stopped and used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire,” said Lt. Robert Nutt with the Middletown Police Department.    According to Middletown Fire Chief Ronald Doire, the truck's brakes malfunctioned and locked up, which caused them to heat and smoke.  The Rhode Island State Police Truck squad was summoned to the scene to investigate why the braking system malfunctioned and the investigation has been turned …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (8)
• Videos (1)

Kyle Braga

8:54 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013

i just have video of the aftermath   more ›

Middletown Firefighters to Go Bald for Charity

This Thursday members of the Middletown Fire Department will be shaving their heads to show support for children battling all forms of cancer.

Fire Department To Hold Renovations Forum Next Week

Next Tuesday, the Middletown Fire Department will hold a forum to discuss the proposed design for the Middletown Fire Station

  A public forum on the conceptual design for the renovation and improvements to the Middletown Fire Station on Wyatt Road will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m. at the Middletown Fire Station located at 239 Wyatt Road.  The public is invited to provide input. Residents who are unable to attend can email comments to Middletown Fire Chief Ronald Doire at rdoire@middletownri.com or call his cell phone at 401-519-9813. After voters approved the bond referendum to finance the renovation project,  Middletown Town Council awarded the design contract to Lawrence Associates. Before the design enters its final phase, Middletown officials said the public would have another opportunity for public input on this project. Lead architect Rick …

• Photos (1)

Woman Rescued From Waters Below Purgatory Chasm

The incident was reported by the Middletown Fire Department

The Middletown Fire Department rescued a 22 year-old woman from the waters below Purgatory Chasm Saturday morning after she descended the rocks but was unable to get back up.  She was climbing with a male from Newport who was able to return to the top and call for help, said officials.   While  waiting for rescue, she was able to get out of the water and stand on the small beach below the rocks. Two firefighters towed a kayak behind the jet ski, in order to reach that area of the water. One firefighter swam the kayak into chasm to rescue the trapped woman. They were able to get the woman onto the kayak and bring her onshore.  She transported to the Newport Hospital for mild hypothermia.  The department conducted a similar rescue last …

•  20 Comments
• Photos (1)

Olga Enger

12:01 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013

Tom, I think he is referring to this http://middletown.patch.com/articles/mpd-woman-allegedly-kicks-firefighter-in-stomach-fraudulent-checks   more ›

Pink Heals to Donate T-Shirt Proceeds to Hasbro Children's Hospital

Pink t-shirts were purchased by firefighters across Rhode Island during the Pink Heals “Cares Enough to Wear Pink” campaign.

The RI Pink Heals has once again teamed up with firefighters throughout the State of Rhode Island to wear pink tee shirts while on duty to support the women of RI with ALL types of cancer. The shirts were worn by all the participating fire departments from Oct. 21-28, 2012.  This year, the shirts also have the name “Jenna” on the left sleeve to remember 9-year-old Jenna Jacques who passed away on July 6, 2012 from brain cancer. Jenna Jacques was an advocate for childhood cancer in RI and also who the RI Pink Heals named their pink rescue after. It was also special to put Jenna’s name on our shirts because Wednesday, Oct. 24th would have been her 10th birthday.  Firefighters throughout RI purchased 1,541 shirts with their own money, …

• Photos (1)

MFD: Chimney Fire on Meadow Lane May Had Been Prevented

The fire broke out Tuesday afternoon

Around 3 p.m Tuesday afternoon, Middletown Fire Department responded to a chimney fire that broke out at 167 Meadow Lane. "Firefighters removed all burning material inside the wood stove and used the fire department’s new tower ladder to assess the top of the chimney, remove the cover and inspect the flue from above," said Fire Chief Ronald Doire.   The resident was advised to have the flue cleaned and inspected before it was used again, said Doire. According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the leading factor contributing to home heating fires, or 26 percent of the total, is failure to clean creosote from solid-fueled heating equipment, which is found primarily in chimneys. The substance rises into the chimney as a liquid …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

MFD: There Is a New Fire Marshal In Town

Two Middletown Fire Fighters moved up the ranks this week

Middletown Fire Chief Ronald Doire spoke with pride as he honored two Middletown firefighters at a promotion ceremony on Monday evening. Fire Inspector Lieutenant Robert McCall officially accepted the position of fire marshal.  McCall been with the department since 2007. Doire described McCall's efforts to organize the first honor guard for the department, for which he currently serves as the honor guard commander. Doire commended McCall in his role as lead instructor for the department’s fire academy last year. “This program provided the highest level of training for Middletown recruits than any previous program in the history of the fire department,” said Doire.   He added that McCall was named Middletown Fire Fighter of the year by the…

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)